


A Shadowed Shelter (Shadow x Reader)

by InfiniteRabbits



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Mobius (Sonic the Hedgehog), References to Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic Forces
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2020-03-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:14:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23249056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InfiniteRabbits/pseuds/InfiniteRabbits
Summary: (Shadow x Reader, Any Gender)The war on Infinite brought so much destruction and despair into everyone's lives that going through even a normal day feels hopeless. That is, until a strange dark hedgehog winds up dropping a group of kittens into your lap. The little bundles of joy bring more meaning into your day-to-day tasks, and they may have also brought you a new friendship that might blossom into a little something more.
Relationships: Shadow the Hedgehog/Reader
Comments: 3
Kudos: 70





	A Shadowed Shelter (Shadow x Reader)

Wars were tough. Rebuilding a city from the ground up felt even tougher. 

Ever since Infinite and Dr. Eggman were taken down by Sonic and his forces, everyone’s efforts turned from fighting and keeping everyone going to cleaning up the giant mess that had been left behind. While the Phantom Ruby’s power was said to be merely an illusion, it still managed to change reality so badly that a lot of others were left without workplaces or homes to return to. You are one of the ones caught in the crossfire. While you continued to work all through the war to make sure the others had what they needed over those long months, the building was destroyed in one of Eggman’s final attacks. At the very least, the company’s owners are still paying the few of you they had left while they try to rebuild, but for now you are stuck without a job to go to. 

It’s funny, in the past you might have thought this was a dream. No job to have to report to, but a decent amount of money still coming in would have sounded amazing. However, three days into being stuck at home and you felt as though you could have gone crazy from the boredom. You somehow managed to read through the last of the books you had laying around, you cleaned everything, and you even re-arranged a bit. Nothing took the edge off of the fact that a lot of the friends you had were lost in Operation Big-Wave and you have nothing to distract you from the horrible feelings of loneliness and sadness. 

Day 4 was spent almost completely in bed. It was just too hard to move or do much of anything. Day 5 wasn’t much different. Finally a full week passed before you managed to make your way outside. You sigh as you close and lock your door. Really, there isn’t much of a point in locking it but you do it out of habit. For a moment, you contemplate going back inside as you glance down at your new running shoes. Well, new-ish. You bought them ages ago with the intent on “getting healthier” before wearing them once, setting them aside, and never touching them again. Surely jogging is better than staying inside and wallowing in your own self-pity. 

You take a deep breath, taking one moment more to clear your thoughts before you start forward. Each step comes easier than the last, and soon enough you find yourself jogging at a decent pace. It’s not like you’re in a rush to go anywhere. Besides, you have to be careful where you step. For the most part the side-walks are still relatively well-kept in this area, but there are some spots that were very noticeably damaged in the battle. Silently, you acknowledge just how grateful you are that you still have a roof over your head. Truly the worst thing that happened was not having power for about 12 hours after Eggman was defeated while the plant was repaired. 

_And cleaning out the fridge._

Not having power for as long as it lasted before that battle meant that there were some pretty scary things growing in there. Even now, you shudder just thinking about it and it makes your stomach do an uncomfortable lurch. Maybe it’s best to focus on other things. 

The farther you get into town, the more damage you can see. It almost doesn’t feel real. Buildings being half torn down, glass broken on the ground, carefully constructed roadways cracked and broken as though the Earth was nothing at all, and businesses with hastily made ‘Closed’ signs in what windows they still have all break your heart. There are others out and about, mostly still trying to clean up and start their re-builds. A small foxchild tries his best to climb up a set of stairs in front of his apartment that are half missing while his mother rushes to try and keep him from falling. An old cat woman tries to navigate her walker over a giant crack in the pavement and barely manages it. Two friends sit outside of their building on the stoop together, sharing drinks while they take a break from the concrete work they’re doing to rebuild a wall. 

If anything, seeing all of this only makes you feel worse. You want to help, but you’re not even sure what you can do. What skills do you even have? Entry-level work never prepared you for this kind of situation. It almost physically _hurts_. What can you actually do? You feel as though if you even tried, you’d surely mess something up. What good was the help if it just set others back instead of helped them forward?

A soft sound catches your ear, making you stop your jogging just past a dark alleyway. For a moment you hesitate, straining to listen. Soft little mews sound off from around the corner, along with an even softer voice whispering to them. Taking a couple of steps backward, you peer into the darkness. Crouching further in the shadows was a dark hedgehog with red streaks running down his spines. For now it seems like he hasn’t noticed you. He’s too focused on the group of tiny kittens in front of him. Five little ones squirm and climb over each other as they mewl out unhappily. They’re cold, hungry and afraid.

_And seemingly without a mother._

You hesitate before taking a few steps forward. It’s only now that the dark hedgehog turns to glance at you over his shoulder. His gaze is harsh, as if daring you to take a step closer. However once he looks you over and deems that you aren’t a threat, he turns his attention back to the little ones that are now trying to climb onto his shoes. 

“Where’s their mom?” You ask, dreading the answer.

Rather than replying, he motions to a closed cardboard box about 5 feet away. Flies buzz around the opening and though you don’t look inside, you’re sure you know what happened to her. 

“Poor little things. Are you… going to take them home?” You speak up once more. 

“Don’t really have any place to put them,” he admits quietly. 

The admission bothers him. He wants to help them, really and truly. He simply doesn’t have a place safe enough for them. You mull over the options in your mind. If the two of you leave the kittens where they are, then they’ll surely die. They’re far too young to find food and shelter for themselves. The pet shelter currently isn’t accepting any more animals. They’ve become overrun with some animals, but mostly Chaos that wound up overflowing from their Chao garden into the normal animal stalls. The place was full to the brim. After having a good think about it, you find yourself kneeling down beside the hedgehog, reaching to run your fingers over one of the Kitten’s back. 

“We could take them back to my place, maybe,” you suggest. “I don’t really know the first thing about taking care of Kittens, but I’ve got some canned tuna for sure if they can eat that. It’s warm and dry, and I’m sure it’s better than staying out here.”

He glances up at you, his red eyes giving just the softest glint of hope before he seems to try and cover it up. Though it isn’t admitting it out loud, he really wants these kittens to survive and thrive.

“What’s your name?” He asks.

“(y/n),” You reply. “And yours?”

“Shadow. Shadow the Hedgehog.”

\---

With a sigh, you slide down the kitchen wall to sit on the floor beside the little ones. Getting five squirming kittens back to your apartment without dropping one of them was harder than you realized it would be, even if you and Shadow _did_ keep switching off on who was carrying 3 and who was carrying 2. Somehow you managed, and now they’re hungrily chowing down on the tuna you placed in a dish for them. Even that was an adventure. The internet works again, but only so-so, and it took you far longer than you would have liked to try and figure out how old the kittens were by looks alone and if they could eat solid food yet or not. 

Shadow watches you with slight intrigue before turning his attention to your counters. Sitting beside the coffee machine is a bag of pretty good quality beans. Rather than asking, he simply reaches for the bag, pops it open, and starts to eat the beans straight. 

“Help yourself, why don’tcha?” You tease, reaching to stroke one of the kitten’s heads.

“I will,” he mutters grumpily, leaning against the counter as he crunches away. 

It’s weird to see someone just straight-up eating coffee beans. Then again, there is such a thing as chocolate covered espresso beans, so perhaps it’s not as strange as you think. Even still, you can’t help but watch him. He continues on for a moment before growing annoyed with your stare and outright glaring at you.

“What?” He snaps. 

“Nothing. Just kinda thinking,” you admit. “What are we gonna do with these guys now?”

 _“I’m_ not going to do anything,” Shadow replied. “They’re _your_ problem now.”

Taking a handful of beans, he sets the bag on the counter and starts off towards the door. Frustration fills you and you stand to chase after him. 

“Wh--Come on! _You’re_ the one that found them,” you protest. 

“Yes,” he agrees as he opens the front door. “And _you’re_ the one that decided to take them in. Ergo, _your problem._ End of story.”

With that he steps outside and slams the door behind himself. So much for getting any help with the little guys.

“You dick...,” you grumble.

\---

Over the few days, the kittens are the main thing keeping you going. They’re so soft, sweet, and they rely on you for their food and attention. You’re happy that they look far less malnourished and they have so much energy now. It’s sometimes hard to keep track of them despite how small your apartment is. They manage to climb up onto the couch using their tiny claws, they snuggle in bed with you, and they chat at you almost endlessly. The noise was a lot to get used to, but now you find you enjoy their sounds. 

Finally you’ve run out of tuna and there’s nothing else in the house that they could possibly eat. So, after some time fiddling with the internet to see what else there is that you could feed them, you decide to try and make your way into town again. On go those same silly running shoes, and out the door you go. Or at least, you’d been _about_ to leave. Immediately upon opening the door you have to stop. Standing there is Shadow, looking as though he’d just been about to knock on your door. His eyes go wide in surprise, shifting side to side nervously before he clears his throat and pulls his hand down to his hip. 

“So…” He starts, trying his best not to show interest. “How are they?”

While his presence is a surprise to you, you’re still not quite over how frustrated you were when he left you high and dry days ago. Rolling your eyes, you give a soft huff.

“Not your problem, remember?” You insist, folding your arms. 

Your comment initiates a strange stare-down between the two of you. Though Shadow doesn’t want to voice his feelings, he seems unwilling to relent. A soft mew sounds off from behind you and you catch his gaze faltering as he tries to see past you rather than continuing to look you in the eye for only a split second before he returns to the staring contest. That action alone is enough to make you break, and you hate it.

“Do you want to see them?” You groan out, stepping off to the side. 

“I suppose,” Shadow answers flippantly.

Even still, his excitement visibly grows the closer he gets to the kittens. Before you know it, he’s sitting on the floor beside them, pulling the little tuxedo cat into his hands to pet and look over. It annoys you just how _cute_ you think his actions are. Maybe he isn’t as rough and tough as he acts. 

“They look a lot better than they did before,” he muses. 

It surprises you that he cares so much. After the way he’d acted before, you’d been prepared never to see him again. Yet here he was, actively making sure each Kitten was alright before settling down with the Tuxedo cat in his lap. He was cute. He was cute and it just wasn’t fair. 

“Did you give them names yet?” Shadow asked, pulling you from your thoughts. 

“Names? Uh…” You pause and rub the back of your neck nervously. “Yeah, I did actually.”

 _“Well?”_ He asks expectantly. 

“Well, that one’s Zoomer,” you say, pointing to an orange cat. “He gets a serious case of the zoomies at night. The white one on the couch is Pearl. She’s kind of a prissy princess. The chocolate one is Espresso. He isn’t as fast as Zoomer, but he’s got a _ton_ of energy. And that orange one with the brown eyes is Electra. She’s got an attitude.”

Shadow listens, giving small nods as he hears each name and explanation. They all seem alright enough. However he notices that the Kitten in his lap was left out. 

“And this one?” He asks, pointing to the little tuxedo cat.

“Oh, uh…” 

Even while you hesitate, you can’t help but smirk. 

“That’s Shadow,” you answer, all too amused to see the hedgehog bristling up. “Because he’s a grumpy little shit who’s fussy about when he’s touched and knocks everything over no matter how many times I tell him not to.”

 _“Whatever,”_ Shadow mutters.

 _Damn, he’s cute._ The way he looks so angry and yet embarrassed at the same time makes a grin force it’s way across your lips. He refuses to meet your gaze, looking literally anywhere else to keep from making eye contact. Was that… _a small blush on his cheeks?_

“Wipe that stupid grin off your face,” he grumbles.

“Can’t,” you say, sitting on the floor beside him. “Sorry, not sorry.”

All too dramatically, he turns his face completely away from you with another huff of, “Whatever.” Not that you really mind. You find yourself more and more drawn to his moodiness. It makes you wonder just how far you can push until he finally breaks and admits that he likes something. But that can be saved for another time. Right now there are more pressing matters you want to talk to him about. Something that you’ve been looking into over the last few days. 

“So I was thinking,” you start. 

Finally he looks at you.

“Don’t hurt yourself,” he says grumpily, trying to get any sort of come-back in after his embarrassment. 

“Shut up,” you laugh out, giving his shoulder a playful shove. “Anyway… There’s a _lot_ more animals out there that don’t have a place to go.”

“You’re not seriously thinking about bringing them _here,_ are you?” Shadow asks, raising a brow. “This place is _tiny.”_

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” you agree. “That’s why I was thinking, there’s this vacant lot across the street that’s been for sale for ages. I think the person selling it has pretty much given up because it’s dirt cheap right now. Probably just wants it off his hands. I don’t have a _lot_ of money but… maybe we could build a make-shift shelter there or something.”

 _“We?”_ Shadow scoffs.

“Well yeah,” You reply with an enthusiastic nod. “I was looking up this guy who builds shelters and buildings for animals out of clay and water. Looks simple enough, but I don’t think I can do it by myself. And you know, I need someone to help me with tracking down the animals and getting them there safely.”

The hedgehog outright stares at you, looking far more unamused than you hoped he would. For the moment, it looks like he’s not going to budge on the situation. However as you take tiny Shadow from his lap and hold the Kitten up, he visibly flinches.

“Come on, Shadow. There’s a ton of other kittens out there that need you to help them,” you say, giving him your best set of puppy-dog eyes as you nuzzle the kitten’s cheek with your own. 

Shadow continues to stare you down, one of his eyes giving a visible twitch as he tries to hold his ground. However this time, it’s _you_ who wins the stare-down. 

_“Fine,”_ he groans out in annoyance.

There’s that grin again, and he huffs as he reaches to take the tuxedo kitten back from you. Apparently he’s attached to that one. Thus, the adventure of opening up an animal-shelter with the world’s moodiest hedgehog began.


End file.
